For some states in Latin America, corruption is not simply an industry, but rather it is part of the political system. This collection studies the nature of corruption and its recent trends through expert contributions from scholars from the region who have diverse scholarly backgrounds, theoretical orientations, and methodologies. Through case studies of countries throughout the Americas, the contributors analyze the links between corruption and organized crime, the main actors involved in corruption, governmental responses to corruption, and the impact that corruption has on governmental institutions and people's faith in them.

For some states in Latin America, corruption is not simply an industry, but rather it is part of the political system. This collection studies the nature of corruption and its recent trends through expert contributions from scholars from the region who have diverse scholarly backgrounds, theoretical orientations, and methodologies. Through case studies of countries throughout the Americas, the contributors analyze the links between corruption and organized crime, the main actors involved in corruption, governmental responses to corruption, and the impact that corruption has on governmental institutions and people's faith in them.

How do the foreign policy priorities of Latino Americans relate to U.S. foreign policy in general and U.S. policy toward Latin America in particular? Public policy elites and the general U.S. public doubt the depth of Latino patriotism, suspecting Latinos of representing their homelands' interests over and above those of the U.S. Through a series of studies surveying Latinos throughout the U.S., this book demonstrates that Latino Americans are more like other Americans with respect to foreign policy than is popularly assumed. At the same time, differences between and among various Latino communities (e.g., those with ties to Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Mexico) exist, and may be a source of growing Latino political power perhaps more relevant to domestic politics than to foreign policy.

This volume examines Colombia's political economy at the outset of the twenty-first century. A group of leading experts explores various issues, such as drug trafficking, organized crime, economic performance, the internal armed conflict, and human rights. The experts highlight the various challenges that Colombia faces today. This volume is a major contribution to the field and provides a current panorama of the Colombia conflict.